The New Guy
by J R Mai
Summary: One shot – It's Nollen's first day at Rangeman. That was intimidating enough. And then they tell him part of his job is to watch over the notorious Stephanie Plum. *Contains spoilers from chapter 9 of Plum Scary and chapter 4 of Fearless.


We'll start you off easy, they said. Monitor duty is boring, they said. Bullshit. Anyone who tells you that at Rangeman is a filthy liar.

Let me back up. My name is Nollen Reed, and this was my first day working for Rangeman Security. I don't know how many guys I beat out for the job. A lot, probably. Rangeman was at the top of its field. Had a reputation for high quality services. Professional. Thorough. The security firm of choice for those who could afford it, which as far as I could tell was anyone from private businesses to government buildings. And those were just the clients on book.

At the head of this elite firm was a man named Ranger Manoso. He had a reputation all his own. Former Special Forces. An Army Ranger. Made a name for himself in Trenton once his tour of duty was up. Hard to know what was fact and what was legend when it came to Ranger. It seemed impossible that one man could be so respected and so feared all on his own. Until you met him. Badass bounty hunter. Mercenary. CEO of a Fortune 500. Walking the fine line between Park Avenue and Stark Street like it was effortless. Not a man you'd ever want to piss off. And I mean _ever_.

The first thing they told me this morning was that 90% of my job was going to be routine. And that the other 10% would likely involve a woman named Stephanie Plum. I thought they were joking. Then Raphael handed me a thick file.

"She's a BEA agent for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds on Hamilton. And though no one will actually admit it, she's kinda our number one priority. Like, if it comes down to doing the job or keeping Stephanie Plum alive and well, you choose Steph or it'll be your ass next."

"Why? Who is this chick?" I opened the folder and started flipping through. Pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful brunette in her early thirties. She was hot. Slightly taller than average, with a slender body that had the right amount of curve to it. Her uncontrolled shoulder length waves gave her a just rolled out of bed look. It was sexy. Accentuated by the intelligent humor shining in her bright, sky blue eyes. Rafael frowned.

"You'll keep your eyes in your head if you want to keep this job. She's off limits."

"Says who?"

"Ranger."

Oh god. Tell me I wasn't just drooling over the boss' girlfriend. "They got a thing?"

"What they have is none of your business. All you need to know is that she's important to Ranger, and that makes her important to all of us. When it comes to Stephanie, you follow procedure to the letter, or Ranger'll make you regret it."

I flipped through a few more pages. There was a lot of material in there. Newspaper clippings about the 'Bombshell Bounty Hunter' and a burned out funeral home. Photo after photo of twisted wreckage that used to be cars. There was even one of a flattened metal pancake labeled Porsche Boxster. Someone had a weird sense of humor. "What kind of procedures are we talking about?"

"Rangeman keeps tabs on Ms. Plum at all times. Her car is considered a fleet vehicle, and she usually has a personal GPS unit stashed in her bag or on her person."

"Ranger uses us to stalk his girlfriend?"

"No. Ranger just likes to know where she is and if she's safe. We only document her movements if they break from the normal patterns. It might be an indicator that she's in danger."

I looked up at him. Nope. Still not joking. "That happen a lot?"

"More than Ranger would like. Not only does she hunt felons for a living, but she's a magnet for crazies and freak accidents. When she's in real danger, Ranger'll assign a detail to protect her. She hates it most of the time. Feels stifled when she's dragging around an escort. Mostly we go covert so she doesn't have to freak out over it. Hell. Sometimes Ranger uses her to train the new guys. She's sharp, and not only is she pretty good at spotting a tail, she's good at ditching one."

Something to look forward to. I moved through some mug shots of people she'd put away. Some were marked possible threats. Some were marked deceased. "She has a lot of enemies?"

"More than her fair share. Between her enemies and Ranger's, she keeps pretty busy. She's ambitious too. Always making new ones. The latest is the head of OCG. Damian 'Skeezer' Marquez. Ranger's warned him that any moves against her will be met with retribution, but that's no guarantee. Skeezer's got more ego than brains."

Christ. This chick was starting to sound like more trouble than she was worth.

I turned a few more pages and found known associates. Friends and family. Coworkers. There were quite a few shots of a big woman with lots of chocolate curves stuffed into itty bitty neon clothes. She was an eyeful, but beautiful in an unexpected kind of way. Even if she did look like trouble. "Who's that?"

"Lula. She helps Stephanie with most of her takedowns. Ranger would rather Steph partner with one of us, but she's comfortable with Lula so the boss doesn't say anything. Between you and me, things go sideways a lot when Lula's involved. I get why Steph likes her, though. She's a riot."

The elevator doors opened and Stephanie Plum herself stepped out. Damn. She was even hotter in person. She looked nervous. A little vulnerable. Wringing her hands and biting her lip. It was cute. She hardly looked at any of us on her walk to Ranger's office. Like she was heading to the gallows. Raphael shook his head. "You gotta practice not looking at her like that."

"Sorry."

"It's not me you have to worry about."

I nodded and moved on. Turned another page. The next associate was a man. Cop by the look of him. Yep. Detective Joseph Morelli, crimes against persons. He was a good looking guy. Kinda rough in a ladies' man sort of way. There were pictures of his house. His green SUV. His dog. Stephanie with his dog. Stephanie standing just a little too close to him. What the hell? "Who's this guy?"

Raphael glanced into the folder. "Morelli. He's Stephanie's boyfriend."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean her ex-boyfriend."

He shrugged. "Sometimes."

Wait, what? "I thought Ranger was her boyfriend."

"Like I said. What Ranger is isn't our business. We follow orders. Ranger's never ordered us to worry who she hangs with, so that's not your business either. All you need to worry about is keeping that girl breathing. The rest is Ranger's territory."

Man, talk about complicated. What was it about this chick? Raphael waved me over to the control desk. Introduced me to a guy named Ram. "You're monitoring the fleet today. You just watch this screen. Make sure all the vehicles are accounted for. The green ones are fleet. The black ones are Ranger's personal vehicles."

"And the red ones?"

"Stephanie. One for her car, one for her bag. You'll want to watch her car the closest. It's pretty much the only one that does anything interesting."

"Like what?"

He grinned. "Could be anything with Steph."

The office door opened and a couple feds walked out. Stopped to talk with the living mountain I knew was Tank. That left Stephanie Plum alone with the boss. Hard not to wonder what they were doing. Raphael rolled his eyes.

"We have a company log on this terminal. Ranger can access it from his phone. Mark down who comes and who goes, especially Ms. Plum. Ranger likes to know when she's in the building. She's the only one allowed on the seventh floor aside from Ranger, Tank and Ella. She stays with him sometimes, but if you make a big deal about it Ranger won't be the only one looking to kick your ass. We all like her. We want her to be comfortable here, got it?"

"Got it," I nodded. Damn. I was having trouble keeping up. She wasn't his girlfriend, but she had free run of the place and stayed over in his apartment sometimes, even though she might have a boyfriend. I was starting to think there was something to this 'it's not my business' thing. The office door opened, letting Stephanie Plum out onto the floor. The boss didn't come with her. He stayed alone in his office. She still looked a little stressed, but she wasn't nearly as nervous. Whatever issue she'd been freaked out about seemed to be on the back burner. One of the feds wandered over to talk to her while I took a seat at the terminal. When the feds left via the elevator, I logged it in like I'd been told.

Ranger's office door opened again and he stepped out. Watching Ms. Plum's back where she stood talking to Tank. She didn't turn to look at Ranger, but I could see her spine stiffen. Like she'd felt him staring. Weird. She was so aware of his presence that he made her nervous just looking at her. Not the kind of behavior you'd expect from what seemed to be a casual relationship.

I watched the control room feed on the monitor in front of me when she nodded to Tank and stepped toward the elevator without so much as a backward glance. A big blond kid was in the elevator already when the doors opened. Another guy fell into step behind her. Took up a place on her other side. Bodyguards. Must be one of those times she was in danger. She finally looked at Ranger. Expectation in her eyes. He just stared at her for a second before he tipped his head to call them off. And then she smiled. Her whole face lit up, her eyes twinkling in a way that was mesmerizing. She gave a cute little finger wave before the doors closed.

Yeah. She was beautiful alright, even if she was trouble. Obviously Ranger thought the trouble was worth it.

I tried really hard to imitate the boss' blank expression when he came up behind me. An aura of darkness surrounded by an expensive scent. He could scare the crap out of anyone and Stephanie Plum had given him a cute little finger wave like he was her favorite person. Tank and the bodyguards came up behind us too. A full audience to watch her kick back against the elevator wall on her descent to the parking garage. Totally relaxed and happy with her freedom.

She stepped off the elevator and started for the ugly truck that was parked in one of Ranger's personal spots, between his Porsche Cayenne SUV and his pristine 911 Turbo. Why she was still driving a piece of crap Chevy Colorado was beyond me. Clearly, Ranger could afford to buy her something nicer. Or just let her drive one of his spares. Then again, maybe it was her choice. She struck me as the independent type. Maybe she saw it as charity, since he wasn't her boyfriend.

Then she started to search the truck. I didn't realize she was searching for the GPS until the men behind me stilled. Watching with cautious fascination. Not only was she independent. She was rebellious, too. She found the thing hidden in the wheel well. Looked it over so that we would all see that she found it. We held our breath and I wondered what Ranger would do if she threw it away in a sign of open defiance. He was already scary. I'd hate to see what he'd look like angry.

Then Stephanie put the unit back and waved up at the camera like a little smartass.

The tension turned to chuckles behind me. And just like that, I got it. It was suddenly obvious why an army of hardened mercenaries would be so willing to make sacrifices and bend over backward for this girl. It wasn't just because she was Ranger's. It was because of her. Beautiful, sharp, brave, and apparently funny. I liked her already.

The men dispersed pretty quickly after that. Guess they didn't want to risk Ranger's ire in case he thought her little stunt wasn't amusing. He stayed though. The energy over my shoulder anything but angry. He stood there until she pulled out of the garage and vanished off the monitors before he turned and went back to his office.

She might not be his girlfriend. Not officially. But it was only too clear there was something between them. Anyone with half a brain could see it. Ranger was highly intelligent. A man who knew what he wanted and stopped at nothing to get it. If he felt that strongly and still wasn't doing anything about it, he must have his reasons.

I settled into the chair and watched the fleet vehicles inching around Trenton. The red dot was hard to ignore. Must've been why they made it red. After a few minutes of trying to watch all the fleet cars at once, I found my eyes resting on Stephanie's slow journey across Hamilton. Going to the bonds office. Raphael said it was on Hamilton. Sure enough, she pulled to a stop and became two dots again. One on the curb, and one in the building. I don't know why Raphael was so adamant about watching her. She wasn't doing anything interesting. I figured keeping tabs on her was important when she went down to Start Street, but—

One of the dots vanished.

"What the hell?"

Ram went ridged beside me, leaning back in his chair to see my monitor. "Shit." He picked up the phone, tracing the monitor with his fingers until he found the nearest fleet car. He hit a couple buttons on the switchboard. "I've got a Code Plum at the bonds office. One of her trackers went dark. The other is still transmitting. Respond when you've got eyes."

"What's going on?"

Ram hit another couple buttons. Preprogrammed number like the first. He put the phone to his ear. "Steph has a bad history of cars getting trashed. They've caught fire. Been exploded by rockets, both by accident and on purpose. Incendiaries. IEDs. Collisions. Ranger even gave her a Porsche Boxster once that was blown up and then crushed flat by a garbage truck."

"You're shittin' me."

Ram shook his head.

The office door flew open and Ranger was on deck again. "Report."

"Stephanie's vehicle went dark," Ram told him. "I'm trying to reach her, but she's not answering. Vince in en route."

Ranger crossed the room in a few steps and looked at the solitary dot still transmitting from her purse inside the bond's office. Pulled his cell out of his pocket and hit a button, calling her on speedial. His other hand on his hip while he listened to the phone ring. Nobody was breathing. The ringing stopped. A harried voice on the other line. "Babe?" Ranger said, a touch of relief hiding behind the tension. He'd been afraid she wouldn't answer. "You alright? The GPS dropped on your truck."

He spoke to her for a minute. First annoyed, and then even that eased. She must have said something funny. "Lucky for him it was you and not me. Do you need a replacement?" He paused a moment, and then he actually smiled. "Babe. Are you suggesting your gonna drive around in a truck riddled with bullet holes?"

A few of the guys who'd paused to listen throughout the control room grinned, chuckling appreciatively. Apparently Ranger wasn't the only one who knew her well. From their reaction, I could only guess she'd been dead serious.

Ram answered the control desk phone on the first ring. "We've got her. Ranger's talking to her now." He listened a second. He looked up as Ranger disconnected. "Vince is on her location, but he hasn't approached. You want him to tail her or back off?"

Ranger considered that a second. From the exchange at the elevator, I figured she'd made him promise to ease up on the armed guard. He didn't like breaking that promise. "What does he see on scene?"

Ram relayed the question. "The truck was the primary target. It was clear there was no one in it. A couple bullets went through and shattered the bay windows of the bonds office, but they were strays. They weren't looking to take out people."

Shadow filled Ranger's already dark eyes. "Stupid son of a bitch thought he was being clever. Have Vince stay dark until she's in for the night. Then he can resume his duties." Ram nodded and turned back to the phone. Ranger cut his dark eyes to Tank. "Seems Skeezer needs a reminder who he's dealing with. I want you to take two men down to Stark and make it known I want a word. Put the fear of God into him. Just because I specified the hell I'd rain down on him if she was so much as bruised doesn't mean he can get away with damaging her personal property. He took out her truck in a fucking drive-by."

"He always was a little pissant motherfucker," Tank said. "You want a personal message spread through the vine?"

"Yeah. Tell him he can run but he can't hide."

Tank nodded with a feral little half smile, tapping the two biggest guys on the floor before he started for the stairs. I swallowed hard. From the look in Ranger's eyes, I couldn't help but wonder if my boss had just issued a death threat. His black gaze cut to me.

"Are you up to speed?" he asked. I nodded. Afraid of what would happen if I said no. "Good. Keep on her signal and log her position at every stop. Make sure Vince is within a quarter mile at all times."

And then he turned and walked back to his office. Not so much as a look back.

Damn.

Ranger was clearly a good ally to have. But God help you if you ever piss him off.


End file.
